May 24, 2017 The Skanner Page 7
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Rising
Star: The Making of
Barack Obama’
by David J. Garrow
William Morrow
Hardcover, $45.00
1472 pages
ISBN: 978-0-06-264183-0
By Kam Williams
For The Skanner
News
“Barack Obama’s
speech at the 2004
Democratic
Na-
tional Convention
instantly catapult-
ed him into the na-
tional spotlight and
led to his election
four years later as
America’s first Afri-
can-American pres-
ident. In this pene-
trating biography,
David J. Garrow de-
livers an epic work
about the life of
Barack Obama, creating a
rich tapestry of a life little
understood, until now...
In Rising Star, Garrow
has created a vivid por-
trait that reveals not only
the people and forces that
shaped the future presi-
dent but also the ways in
which he used those influ-
ences to serve his larger
aspirations. This is a grip-
“
Any Obama fan is likely to
find this in-depth portrait
fascinating, as it is filled
with plenty of little-known
factoids and anecdotes
about him
ping read about a young
man born into uncom-
mon family circumstanc-
es, whose faith in his own
talents came face-to-face
with fantastic ambitions
and a desire to do good in
the world.”
—Excerpted from the
Bookjacket
F
about about POTUS 44’s
time in the White House,
too.
Any Obama fan is like-
ly to find this in-depth
portrait fascinating, as
it is filled with plenty of
little-known factoids and
anecdotes about him. For
example, it chronicles a
childhood spent mostly
on Hawaii where he was
basically raised by his
or some reason,
presidential biog-
raphies by Pulitzer
Prize-winners tend
to be rather lengthy.
Consider David Mc-
Cullough’s on John Ad-
ams (752 pages) and Har-
ry Truman (1120 pages),
Doris Kearns Goodwin’s
on Abe Lincoln (1,341
pages) and FDR (760 pag-
es), and Robert Caro’s
continuing series on LBJ
(3,180 pages and count-
ing).
Now, another Pulitzer
Prize-winner, David J.
Garrow, has published
an epic opus of 1,472 pag-
es on the life of Barack
Obama, focusing on the
years prior to the presi-
dency. And it’s a safe bet
that Garrow just might
eventually write a sequel
maternal grandparents
in the absence of both his
mother and father.
Garrow also docu-
ments “Barry’s” use of
marijuana in high school
and of cocaine in college,
when he started prefer-
ring “Barack.” And the
author reveals the iden-
tity of the woman Obama
lived with for a couple of
years during his stint in
Chicago as a grassroots
organizer.
We also learn that
Obama not only worked
with a lot of Bible-thump-
ing
sisters
during
his initial stint in the
Windy City, but that he
was already planning
to become president of
the United States way
back then. And there’s
the blow-by-blow of his
strained
relationship
with Genevieve Cook, the
rudderless White wom-
an he dated during his
tenure in New York City.
Everything you always
wanted to know about
Barack Obama but were
afraid to ask, and then
some!
Arts & Entertainment
FILM REVIEW: Prince Charming Courts Sickly
Next-Door Neighbor in ‘Everything, Everything’
By Kam Williams
For The Skanner News
I
t’s Maddy Whittier’s
(Amandla Stenburg)
18th birthday, but she
won’t be celebrating
the occasion at a party
or restaurant. In fact,
she won’t be leaving the
house or even having
friends over anytime
soon.
That’s because she
has SCID, a rare genetic
disorder that basically
makes her allergic to ev-
erything.
Consequently,
she’s
been stuck inside a her-
metically-sealed house
since being diagnosed
with the disease at the
age of three, shortly af-
ter her father and broth-
er’s untimely deaths in a
terrible car crash.
Lucky for Maddy, her
mom, Pauline (Anika
Noni Rose), is a physi-
cian who could afford to
raise her in a luxurious,
if sterile, environment
free of the germs that
could compromise her
immune system in an in-
stant. Although Maddy
grew up curious about
the outside world, she’s
gotten used to explor-
ing it over the internet
with the help of online
courses and a support
group for kids with
her illness.
Then, Maddy re-
ceives the best birth-
day gift she could ever
imagine when new
neighbors move in
right next door. For,
one member of the
family, Olly (Nick Rob-
inson), is a boy about
her own age. And all
it takes is a glance
through the glass win-
dow for the handsome
hunk to fall head-over-
heels in love with her.
The ardent admirer
uses sign language
to ask Maddy for her
phone number, before
typing “U R beautiful”
in his very first text.
Olly’s zeal only in-
creases upon learning
about her affliction,
and he asks if there’s
any way he could be
SAVE THE DATE
The Skanner
Foundation
MLK
Breakfast
January 15
2018
NEW LOCATION!
‘Everything, Everything’
decontaminated to come
over for a visit.
But that’s against doc-
tor’s orders, especially
mom’s, which forces the
lovebirds to admire each
other from afar. Hor-
mones raging, Maddy
is suddenly discontent
with her sheltered ex-
istence in an antiseptic
gilded cage.
Will she recklessly
abandon the protective
bubble to rush into the
arms of a perfect Prince
Charming she barely
knows?
That is the burning
question at the heart
of “Everything, Every-
thing,” a bittersweet, bil-
dungsroman based on
the young adult novel by
Nicola Yoon. The picture
was directed by Stella
Meghie who successful-
ly adapted the book into
a syrupy soap opera cer-
tain to satisfy fans of the
source material.
A tender enough tear-
jerker to dehydrate even
this crabby curmud-
geon!
Excellent HHHH
Rated PG-13 for mature
themes and brief sensu-
ality
Running time: 96 min-
utes
Distributor: Warner
Brothers Pictures
To see a trailer for Ev-
erything, Everything, vis-
it TheSkanner.com